


things we still deny to selves

by pawnshophearttradingup



Series: you and i have come such a long way [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Angst, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 19:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14940533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pawnshophearttradingup/pseuds/pawnshophearttradingup
Summary: The first time Alfonse had asked Zacharias to spend the night with him.





	things we still deny to selves

**Author's Note:**

> one day i'll post a fic that passes 1000 words. but very obviously today is not that day
> 
> thanks to my beta reader and good friend geo, as always. love you

Alfonse was exhausted. Zacharias could tell because Alfonse was leaning heavily against him, which he would never do were he completely alert. They had both just washed up after training, Alfonse’s hair still damp against Zacharias’s shoulder, and now they were both heading back to their rooms.

At Zacharias’s door, he expected Alfonse to let go, to pull away and wish Zacharias “good night” in that tone of voice that implied he wanted… something more, maybe. Something Zacharias would have readily given him, had they not been who they were. But Zacharias was still Bruno, and Alfonse was Alfonse, and so Zacharias ignored the part of him that knew what Alfonse wanted, and the part of him that wanted to give it back.

Instead, though, Alfonse held his hand tight and, making eye contact the whole time, said, “You should stay with me tonight.”

And Zacharias wanted nothing more than to agree, to sleep in the same bed as Alfonse, but the more he thought about it, the more that voice in the back of his head grew insistent, saying it would be the perfect chance to kill him. Telling him how defenseless Alfonse would be, how easy it would be… So, instead, he just brushed some of Alfonse’s hair behind his ear, the only contact he allowed himself to have, and stepped back. “I don’t think that would be wise, my prince. What if someone found out?”

Alfonse furrowed his brow, like he was about to tell Zacharias that he didn’t care if people found out. Then he opened his mouth, closed it again, and nodded, face blank. To Zacharias, it suggested that Alfonse just remembered he was a prince who felt he had certain obligations to his country. Obligations that Zacharias could never be a part of, or at least not in the way Alfonse would like him to be. “Of course. You’re right,” and it sounded like he wasn’t pleased with that in the least. “My apologies. Good night, Zacharias. Sleep well.”

He turned around, walking as fast as he could to his room next door and slipping in without even a glance back over his shoulder.

Zacharias stood out there for a moment longer, staring at the space Alfonse had just vacated, and sighed. He knew it had been the right thing to do, the best way to ensure Alfonse was safe from him. He also knew that one day, it was inevitable he would end up leaving Alfonse, and that it would only break his heart more if they were in a relationship when that happened.

But he didn’t have to like it, either.

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from modern baseball, "hiding". once more it doesn't really have much to do w/ the fic itself it's just a good song and the lyric was good
> 
> i had bruno refer to himself as zacharias with only one exception because it felt right, in my heart
> 
> i'm on twitter @lineraway where there's also a link to a discord server i made for alfonse fans


End file.
